Problem with section numbers not being linked in a word document that I'm updating using word 2007. The original document was created with an earlier version of Microsoft word.
When you create or open and edit a (.docx) document in Microsoft Word 2007, the Save As option gives you the opportunity to save it as a the (.doc) document in the formats of older versions of Word.
If it is not already too late, try to recover (using the AutoRecovery function built-into Microsoft Word 2007) , the earliest and most error-free version of the document in question you can recover and then use Save As, rather than Save to make an experimental copy of the document in an older Microsoft Word format.
Another option to consider is to download and install the free Office Suite Application Open Office, which can open, edit and manage many Microsoft Office documents and then copy and paste the most error-free version of the document in question into the appropriate Open Office Program and then see what sort of job the Open Office Word Processor makes of handling the tricky formatting.
For the future, as a general rule, whenever editing any document that contains complex formatting, always remember to start by copying and pasting the text of the original document into a new blank document (remembering to close the original document so you don't accidentally toggle between the two). Then your experiments could be conducted on a copy of the document, rather than the original, enabling you to repeat the method and continue creating experimental copies freely, until you have developed a workable strategy for dealing with the formatting issues.
Furthermore, remember to always use the Save As function, giving the experimental documents distinct and varying names (test.doc1, test.doc2, test.doc3 etc.) so you can keep track of your progress in mastering the formatting issues, then each document you save, is a copy, leaving the original document unchanged and available as a template for further experimentation, if necessary.
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